Having reached the knockout stage of the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, on Wednesday (5/6) Kyle and crew found Finland standing in their way on their march to a medal. The Finns, who finished second in their group to Canada, had not lost a game in regulation in the tournament. That streak ended when the US team upended them and sent them packing with a 3-2 victory.
The entirety of the scoring occurred during an active second period. Finland jumped out to a lead on a power play strike from Niko Kapanen in the opening minute. The Americans equalized with a power play goal of their own, and then Mr. Okposo and David Backes assisted on a T.J. Oshie goal to put the US ahead for good. The teams exchanged goals later in the period, but Finland was unable to put anything past goalie Robert Esche in the 3rd, and the US skated away with the one-goal win.
Kyle improves his tournament stat line to 1 goal and 3 assists (and one "fight" versus Islanders teammate Mark Streit) in 7 games. He is sporting a +4 overall, which is very solid.
The next game will be a rematch against the very tough Russian team. Earlier in the tournament the Russians dropped the US by a 4-1 score. The tilt will take place on Friday (5/8) morning (Eastern Daylight Time). If Kyle scores or does anything notable in the game, you'll read about it here.
Good luck, US team!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
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